Luka Rocco Magnotta is scheduled to make a second court appearance today.

And, just like his initial appearance on Tuesday, the 29-year-old murder suspect is expected to appear in a Montreal court via a video link.

He was formally charged on Tuesday with the first-degree murder of university student Jun Lin, along with defiling his corpse.

Magnotta, who has pleaded not guilty, is also accused of harassing Prime Minister Stephen Harper and MPs, and publishing and mailing obscene material.

His lawyer may request a psychiatric evaluation during today’s proceedings.

If the request is granted, Magnotta would be sent to a psychiatric facility for not more than 30 days, after which a report would be filed.

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To see that much security, it feels like we’re dealing with Hannibal Lecter in Silence of the Lambs

For now, Magnotta has been transferred to an east-end Montreal jail where he has been placed into solitary confinement and is under a 24-hour suicide watch while awaiting his next court appearance.

He is currently under “super protection,” which means he has no contact with any of the other prisoners. Beyond that, he’ll receive no special treatment while in the jail.

“It’s horrible, the crime he did, but we do our work and we’re not afraid of him,” said Stephane Lemaire, head of the provincial jail guards’ union.

John Mahoney/THE GAZETTE

Magnotta is accused of mailing Lin’s body parts to such places as the Ottawa offices of the Conservative and Liberal Parties and two Vancouver schools.

He is also accused of posting a video of the gruesome events on the Internet.

Magnotta arrived in Canada on Monday, shackled and surrounded by heavy security as he was returned from Germany aboard a military plane.

Police precautions used since Magnotta returned to Montreal have been excessive, Lemaire said. “He’s not an international terrorist and he’s not a gangster with accomplices on the outside, we’re going to transport him by standard means.

“It’s ridiculous the amount of money that was wasted to give the media a show…. To see that much security, it feels like we’re dealing with Hannibal Lecter in Silence of the Lambs.”

Built in 1997, the Rivière-des-Prairies Detention Centre “shelters 600 prisoners in a warm and friendly environment which simultaneously incorporates principles of security, efficiency and respect for inmates,” according to Lemay Associes Montreal, the architecture firm behind the facility.

Magnotta will likely be housed in the facility for most of the remainder of his trial.

AP Photo/Montreal Police

Meanwhile, Montreal Mayor Gerald Tremblay’s office categorically denied an earlier CBC report that the city paid $15,000 to repatriate Magnotta from Berlin on a Royal Canadian Air Force jet.

“The city of Montreal does not in any way participate in the extradition process,” spokesperson Martine Painchaud told the National Post. “It’s not a local police matter.”

“It’s an exceptional case (but) it is not for the city to pay anything for (the extradition). The federal authorities will assume the responsibility.”

Tremblay was asked about the $15,000 number during a press conference and replied “justice has no price.”

With files from The Canadian Press and Tristin Hopper and Josh Visser, National Post